19 November 2008 - Diester Industrie, a subsidiary of France's Sofiprotéol, has acquired Oleon Holding NV in Belgium from the company's shareholders Ackermans & Van Haaren NV-Sofinim, KBC Private Equity, Mercator Verzekeringen, Fortis Private Equity and Mr Jan De Clerck.
In June last year, Diester Industrie and Oleon, a leading European oleochemical company entered the biodiesel market by joining forces to build a glycerine refining unit of 30.000 tons at the Compiègne site of Diester Industrie.
Glycerine is a typical oleochemical high added value product (the European market size being more than 400.000 tons/year) and is widely used in its refined form in cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical applications. Glycerine is also an important by-product of biodiesel production. This by-product (10% of the output) is not pure enough and needs further purification in a glycerine refining unit before it can be used in these applications.
Oleon, in May this year, announced that it had started building an industrial ester plant in Malaysia, 70km from the capital Kuala Lumpur. The plant's start-up is estimated around January 31, 2009. The plant will employ around 35 people.